"King" Gabriel Rosado made his return to the ring a
successful one by scoring an 8-round unanimous decision over
Jose Medina at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. After a
slow start, Rosado corked Medina with a lightning bolt right
hand near the end of round three. The shot dipped Medina to
the canvas briefly, but the knockdown was the turning point
of the fight. In the 4th, Rosado jumped on his foe and had
him wobbly. However, Medina stayed up and Rosado let off the
gas, allowing him to survive. But Gaby never looked back and
cruised through the remainder of the fight to up his record
to 15-5.

Rosado continues to progress as a fighter. His win in Newark
was a solid performance and an honest night's work. He was
superior to Medina, but had a real opponent before him and
had to work for his victory. Medina knew what he was doing
and proved to be a tough customer.

Medina
won the first two rounds on my card, as Gaby shook off the
rust of his five month layoff. For much of the third round,
they fought evenly, but then Rosado's big punch found a
home. It thudded high on the side of Medina's head - above
the ear, near the temple. The force of the blow dropped
Medina, but he popped right back up. The action continued,
but the round was near its end and Rosado didn't have the
time to go for the finish.

In
the corner, Medina seemed fine. He shrugged his shoulders
and with a nod admitted that he didn't see the punch coming.
Lesson learned.

Round four began and Rosado jumped right on his wounded
prey. He fired the big right again and it landed. Left hooks
and more rights followed. Medina was hurt and stumbling from
the barrage. It looked like the KO was coming, but then
Rosado stopped. He sat back and watched.

After
Mike Jones punched himself out during a second round attack
back in November, Philly fighters seem to have adopted the
high profile error as the inspiration for a new golden rule.
"Don't pull a Mike Jones", or some variation of this new
battle cry, is a phrase I've heard repeatedly ever since MJ
squeaked out a 10-round victory on the Pacquiao-Margarito
under card last month. But what these guys have to remember
is that Mike Jones was fighting before the biggest audience
of his career, and was poised for a possible title shot if
he delivered an impressive enough win to validate all the
hype that has built up around him. When he hurt Jesus
Soto-Karass in the second round, he saw his opportunity and
he tried to seize it. He attacked Karass with everything he
had and showed that he had the fighting spirit some had
questioned. Certainly he went too far. He made a mistake and
his reputation is paying for it right now. But Jones took a
risk and tried to end the fight. If he had succeeded, he
would have been a hero. But because he showed a weakness,
everyone is giving him a hard time. While watching Jones
against Karass, I was sucking in my breath and wincing as
much as the next guy. But I like a fighter who goes all out.
And Mike Jones went all out that night. Hopefully he learned
his lesson and will be a better fighter for it.

I'm
not sure if Gabriel Rosado had Mike Jones on his mind in
round four against Jose Medina. But with a good two minutes
remaining in the round and with Medina reeling from a face
full of hard punches, Rosado let up on his prone opponent
and allowed the opportunity for a KO to pass. Rosado
reserved his energy, but he spent his chance to look really
impressive. Gaby easily won the decision on the judges cards
(79-72, 78-73 and 80-72). I too had it 78-73.

The truth is Gaby needed the work; so maybe a full-route
eight-rounder did him more good than a mid-fight knockout.
And to be fair, Medina is a pro who knows how to survive.
But one can only wonder how good Rosado could be if he fully
committed himself in the ring. That is not to say that Gaby
doesn't try. He does. He has the instincts of a real fighter
and the heart and spirit of a warrior. But in his fights, he
often arrives at a moment that calls for him to step forward
and turn up the heat. Too often at that moment, Rosado
transforms from a dangerous pressure fighter to a passive
over-thinker. Sometimes it's cost him a fight; sometimes
it's cost him a knockout, and sometimes it has just made his
night more difficult than it should have been. This problem
is really the last piece of the puzzle that Rosado is
lacking. If he and trainer Billy Briscoe can fix it, he
clearly can make it to the next level.

If Rosado was a car, I'd suggest to head mechanic Billy
Briscoe that he should check the transmission. Rosado can go
in reverse. Neutral is working like a charm, but the gears
are slipping when he tries to move forward. First gear seems
okay, but everything above that needs work.

Rosado's
best assets are his size, strength and punching power. He's
a good counter puncher - the knockdown he scored against
Medina was a clinic in how to do it right. But Rosado needs
to create his own opportunities by applying pressure, moving
forward, making his opponents uncomfortable and forcing them
to throw punches. If he allows them to go into a defensive
shell and stop punching, he's got nothing to counter. And so
he waits. And this waiting has produced the lulls that have
allowed his opponents back into the fight and in a way, let
them control the action passively. I think this is what has
slowed his progression.

After the fight, Rosado seemed well aware of the issue.
Without my usual prodding, he raised the point himself, and had it
figured out that his inability to close the distance
cost him the KO. He gave much respect to Medina, but truly
seemed disappointed about having to go the full eight
rounds. He was determined to get back to the gym and work on
the issue. And I believe him. Gaby has shown much
progression in the past year or two and along with Briscoe
has plugged tougher holes than this one. A later
conversation with Briscoe made me feel even more confident
that the last piece of the Rosado puzzle is soon to be put
in place. If they can do it, Gaby might truly become a
dangerous fighter - and maybe even a "King".